Harry Potter and the Magic of the Founders
by acekiller157
Summary: The story of four children with a very special destiny.The boy with bravery to oppose the dark lord.The girl with wisdom to make the plans.The girl with loyalty who stays until the end.The boy with determination to show he is not of his family.
1. Prologue:The Background

**Prologue: The Background.**

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This is the story of four separate souls whose destiny becomes intertwined forever. The story of four children who are brought together because of forces more powerful than any wizards have ever known. The story of a guardian whose choice to accept these four children will change the course of history. The story of happy and joyous times and at the same time horrific and grim times.

_(__Red)_**The story of a boy who must rise up to take on the bravery, chivalry, and strength of heart required to fight the darkest wizard of all time. A boy who lost his parents through the murders of one dark wizard, but was saved due to the power of love. **

_(Blue)_**The story of a girl who must use her sharp mind, wisdom, creativity, and cleverness to aid he who must fight the dark wizard. A girl who struggles to prove herself and change the standards set for her blood status. **

_(Yellow)_**The story of a girl who calls upon her friendship, loyalty, hard-work, and dedication to show her place at the sides of her friends during their greatest battle. A girl who must show the world that she isn't as weak or helpless as others believe her to be. **

_(Green)_**The story of a boy who wields the ambition, cunning, resourcefulness, and determination needed to defeat those who would steal that which he holds dear to his heart. A boy who must discard his families' name to prove which side he has chosen.**

This...This is the story of those who wield the **MAGIC OF THE FOUNDERS.

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**A/N: **The idea for this story developed after reading many different fanfictions about Harry Potter. I have finally decided that I should begin it and see the opinion of those out there. Unfortunately, the colors failed to transfer over to this after I uploaded it, if anyone knows how to do this, please let me know. As it stands, I will put the colors in italics and parenthesis beforehand. Please let me know what you think so far. Thanks for your time.


	2. Chapter 1:Children in Need

**Chapter 1: Children in Need.

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24 year-old Sarah Taylor was having another very stressful day at her office because of all the economic troubles that seemed to be going on around Britain.

Sarah was a 5'9" brown with red highlights through her hair. She had an athletic figure which she worked on daily at the gym. Her bright blue eyes were dimmed at the moment due to another long day at work. However, as normal as she seemed to those around her, she was not. Only her boss and best friend knew that Sarah was really a witch placed as a security guard in the bank due to any problems that may happen as cause to magic.

Sarah sighed dramatically after having caught the eighth person trying to rob the bank because he was poor. She made a grunting noise. "Don't these people get it? Stealing won't help them anymore than sitting around!"

Someone laughed behind her. "Give them some credit Sarah, they aren't used to being found out so quickly." Sarah turned seeing her best friend, Matthew Brown coming up with a grin on his face.

Matt was a 6'3" tall Ukrainian man with dark brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to light up as big as his smile. He was very muscular and had that walk where he looked as if he was in the military.

He grinned as he joined Sarah. "Most people just won't get that this bank is protected by magic." he said winking at his friend. Sarah smacked him, but couldn't help the smile creeping along her face. She knew that despite the laid back demeanor that he always seemed to portray, Matt could scare most of the criminals in prison if he needed to.

As the two friends were talking, another man walked up towards them. This one was 5'6" and had white hair along the sides of his head whereas the top was bald and glinted in the sunlight. The hazel eyes behind the rimmed glasses always seemed to be able to pick up everything going on around him. He smiled warmly as he saw his two guards talking animatedly.

"Sarah. Matt. You both are wanted fugitives it seems." the man said with a small smile. The other two both looked at him with confused expressions. He continued saying,"The police are here and they really want to talk to both of you."

Matt raised one of his eyebrows. "You wouldn't happen to know what this is about would you, Richard?" Their boss shook his head slightly. "Not really Matt, but I have some sort of idea." he said looking at Sarah.

Sarah widened her eyes. "You think this involves the fact that I'm a witch?" She hissed. "How would they have any idea that I am?"

Matt put his hand on his best friend's shoulder to calm her down. "Come on Sarah, standing here asking questions won't find out what they want." He started walking towards the officers as if he was in charge of a regiment of soldiers. Upon reaching the two, he towered over them and the officers both took a step back as they sized him up.

Sarah caught up to her friend and gave him a playful glare. Then she turned to the officers and stuck out a hand. "I'm Sarah Taylor and this is my friend and fellow guard, Matt Brown." Matt simply gave a small nod when Sarah mentioned him.

The officer in charge took Sarah's hand and shook it. "I'm sorry that we arrived here without giving you any notice, but this is urgent and we heard you two are the best guards in the area."

Upon hearing this, Matt crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the officers. "Oh, really now. Where did you hear that statement?" The lead officer glanced at him and Sarah saw some fear in his eyes. She laid a hand of her own on Matt's shoulder and catching his eyes, slightly shook her head. She saw Matt relax a bit.

Sarah turned back to the officers. "What exactly are you looking for us to do, officer? My friend and I are simply bank guards." She gestured around the bank as if to prove her point.

The second officer snorted, but was silenced with a look from the first. "Well, you have the best record for catching criminals than any of the other banks for well....miles!" After this statement, Sarah felt her own eyes narrow and glanced at Matt and could barely see his eyes. Noticing this, the lead officer immediately spoke. "Not that that's a bad thing at all! That's very good, but we were wondering if you could give us a hand with a problem that we have."

Sarah's eyes widened in surprise. She glanced at her friend and saw him looking thoughtful, probably thinking that he could give them a problem of their own. However, he didn't speak. Sarah shook her head in amusement. "What exactly do you have in mind, Officer?"

The officer smiled warmly thinking that he was getting through to at least one guard. He refrained from looking at the other. "Well, we have reports of a boy getting repeatedly abused at the hands of his Aunt and Uncle. We've tried to inquire about it, but every time we do all we can find is a healthy young though rather large child. Yet neighbors continue to report screaming. I;m hoping you'll be willing to go. Since you aren't cops, you may find out more."

Sarah looked appalled and turned to her friend, who looked shocked. Matt turned to her and after a minute of looking at each other, he turned back to the officers. "Of course, we'll help you. Where can we find these people?"

The second officer took a small red notebook out of his jacket pocket and opened it. "#4 Privet Drive in Little Whinging,Surrey. Hopefully, you two can pick up some useful clues there. Please report anything you find."

Matt had a small notebook of his own out where he had written the address down. "Don't worry about that. You'll be the first to hear about anything." After a small pause,he offered his hand to the officers to shake goodbye.

After they had shaken both Matt and Sarah's hands, the two officers left the bank bidding the two guards lots of luck before the left. Matt turned to Sarah and the two walked towards their boss. "Richard, we've been told to check out a case of child abuse in Surrey. We'll be back after we check this out. If you want, I can call in some more guards to watch the place."

Richard shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Matt. I don't think we'll have too many more problems today. You two look into this and then take the rest of the day off." Richard smiled as he looked at their shocked expressions."Just be sure and let me what happened."

Sarah and Matt both promised they would tell their boss everything and anything that happened and then both went out the back door. They climbed into Matt's Jeep and started on their way to the address.

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Matt slowed his jeep to a stop in front of the house they had been given by the two officers. He listened for a minute as if to see if he would hear any screaming. Then he followed Sarah as she got out of the vehicle and walked up to the door. "So, how do you want to handle this?" he asked her.

"Let's wait and see what we find inside." she grimaced. Then taking a step forward, she knocked on the door. Getting no response, she rang the bell.

A loud voice from inside screamed out, "ANSWER THAT DOOR,BOY!"

Sarah widened her eyes and turned to Matt who looked equally shocked and watched as his hand went down to where his gun was secure on his belt.

Matt was about to kick in the door when Sarah put a hand on his arm causing him to wait and hear the sound of someone approaching the door. They heard the lock turning and saw the door crack open. A small face appeared in the crack of the door.

Sarah immediately noticed he was around four years old, but was much too thin for his age. His hair was a complete mess of black and bright green eyes looked out from behind a pair of glasses. He was covered in dirt and bruises on his legs and arms. Her eyes shot open in complete horror.

He looked like he was very afraid of the two at the door. "M-M-May I help y-y-you?"

Sarah dropped so she was the same height as the small boy and gave him a warm smile. "Hey there, my name's Sarah, and I'm here to investigate a problem at this household. This is my friend and partner, Matt." She said gesturing to the man next to her. "Are you parents home? We'd like to talk to them."

The boy cringed visibly when Sarah mentioned parents. "My p-parents are d-d-dead."

Sarah looked at the poor boy in shock and was lost for words for a moment. Then she recovered and gave another smile."I'm so sorry to hear that, dear. Could you take us to the adult in charge here then. We need to talk to him very much."

The boy looked at her thoughtfully before replying,"Of course, Miss Sarah. Please follow me." He gave a shy smile before opening the door completely and beckoning the two guards in.

The boy led them further into the house past an open door beneath the stairs. Sarah turned her head to look beneath the stairs as they passed and froze. Inside was a child's room, if you could call it that. There was a mess of dirty rags for blankets and a small and old-looking lantern. Sarah stared at this room in utter horror and disgust. She grabbed her friend's arm and whirled him to face the open door.

Matt's eyes widened in shock as he took in the messy quarters. He glanced at Sarah and started whispering. "You don't think that boy lives here do you?"

Sarah narrowed her eyes before replying,"I sure as hell hope not." Then she turned to the boy who had stopped to see what they were looking at and dropped to her knees again. "Honey, may I ask a question of you first?" The boy nodded his head quietly. Sarah smiled again. "Where is your room, dear? It must have loads of toys and books in it right?"

The boy stared at her for a minute before replying,"No, Miss Sarah, I live here." he said pointing to the area under the stairs. Sarah immediately felt disgust for the boy's guardians. She looked at Matt, whose face was a mask of fury. He turned to her,"That's it! I'm taking these bastards down." he hissed.

Drawing his gun, Matt walked to the door and kicked it right off the hinges with a loud CRACK. The occupants in the living room looked up in shock as Matt came running through the doorway with his gun at the ready. He trained it on the man in the room, who was very large with a big mustache. "GET ON THE FLOOR!" Matt roared. The man dropped as if his weight was nothing.

The woman and second child in the room stood huddling in the kitchen, whimpering with fear as they saw Matt take down the other man. Sarah came through the door with the other boy in tow and took in the scene with the boy looking in shock. The large man focused right on the boy at Sarah's side. "THIS IS YOUR FAULT BOY! WE TAKE YOU IN AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY US!"

"Shut up!" Matt snarled at the man, who glanced up at the man built like a soldier and decided to listen. Matt turned slightly so he could see Sarah, but keep his gun on the large man. "Sarah, call those officers and tell them to get over here now." Sarah nodded to her friend and decided that the woman and second child were too frightened to speak, so she turned to the boy at her feet. "Could you show me where your phone is, please?" The boy nodded and started to lead her over to a table in the living room.

The woman in the kitchen watched the boy before speaking,"How could you help them, Harry? They have your uncle at gunpoint. Doesn't your family matter to you?" She turned to her husband. "Don't worry Vernon, dear. We'll get out of this."

"Don't count on that. You've done enough harm to this poor child." Sarah said coldly. She turned back to Harry as he pointed out the phone. "Thank you very much, Harry. You've been a great help to me today. Now, let's see if I can help you."

She picked up the phone and dialed a number. After speaking for a little while, she hung up again. "They are sending the police very soon, Matt."

Five minutes later, the sounds of sirens could be heard as police cars pulled up outside the house. Police was suddenly running into the house with weapons drawn and Sarah recognized the officers from the bank as they came in. One of them walked over to Sarah as the other officers relieved Matt and put Vernon and his wife in handcuffs while leading them out of the building.

The officer came up to Sarah and Harry and smile at the boy. "So this is the mystery boy that no one seemed able to find. Where were they keeping him hidden?" he inquired of Sarah.

Sarah narrowed her eyes slightly. "They kept him in a cupboard underneath the stairs with barely enough room to live." The officer stared at her in shock, but then smiled at Harry. "Don't worry, son. We'll get you to a safe place now." he said as he brushed some hair out of Harry's face.

As the officer brushed the hair out, a lightning bolt shaped scar was revealed in the middle of his forehead. The officer noticed and spoke,"Wow, son, that is a very interesting shaped scar you have there. How did you manage that one?" Sarah looked down at Harry and noticing the scar, she froze. This was the boy who had saved the wizard and muggle community! This was _Harry Potter._

"It's probably another scar that his uncle or aunt gave him." Sarah said coldly. The officer looked at her and then nodded reluctantly. Then he got up and went to check with his partners. Matt came walking over at this time to check on Sarah and Harry. "Are you both alright? No permanent damage right, son?" Harry shook his head.

Sarah got up and pulled Matt to one side. "Matt, you know who this boy is, don't you? He's Harry Potter!" she whispered. Matt's eyes widened in surprise. He knew who Harry was after Sarah had explained what he had done for the world. "You're saying that's the boy who saved both your and my worlds?" He shook his head as if this was too much to take in.

As the two guards were talking, the officer returned to Harry. "Listen, son, there is a lady coming from foster care who will find a safe home to place you in." Harry's eyes widened, but then he froze. "NO! I don't want to go with you! You could take me someplace bad! NO!" he yelled and attempted to escape.

Sarah and Matt both turned as they heard Harry start yelling and watched as he started running out of the room. Sarah quickly followed him and gestured that no one follow her. She found him in the cupboard under the stairs, shaking. Sarah knelt down and spoke,"Harry, darling, there's no reason to worry. These men won't place you in a bad home. They won't let another person hurt you. If someone else does though, I'll come and rescue you again, I promise."

Sarah brought Harry back into the living room and looked at the officer. "You just need to make sure he knows that you won't put him in a bad place." she whispered as she rubbed Harry's back. The officer turned to Harry and spoke,"You have my word, son. I'll make sure you get somewhere where no one will harm you." Harry violently shook his head. "I don't trust you." The the boy looked up at Sarah beseechingly, "Can't I come and live with you, Miss Sarah? I promise that I'll be good!"

Sarah opened her mouth in surprise and quickly closed it. She looked around the room at the officers who were talking amongst one another, at the lead officer who looked surprised, at Matt who looked completely shocked, but with a hint of amusement in his eyes. Then she looked back at Harry in her arms, looking at her with a pleading look and her heart melted. "Of course, you can Harry. As long as there are no problems with that" Sarah said as she looked at the head officer. He shook his head with a face full of surprise.

Sarah smiled at the boy in her arms. "Well then, why don't we come visit your new home, Harry. You can come with me and Matt." She looked at Matt who nodded and the two of them left the house. They were walking towards their car when Matt noticed a person stumbling further down the road. "Sarah, what do you make of that? I think they're in trouble."

Matt took off running towards the person. "Excuse me, is everything alright there? Are you being followed or something?" he yelled. Sarah followed him with Harry watching in her arms.

As Matt got closer, he saw that it was a woman and that she was carrying a child. "Excuse me,miss? Can you speak?" he called again. The woman noticed him and began making her way to him. When she got close enough, she grabbed his arm. "Please! You must help me! My husband will be after me soon enough, but you must take my son."

Matt looked at the lady as if she had lost it. "Come with me,ma'am. We'll get you to safety and make sure you're husband never finds you. What's his name?" he inquired.

"H-His name is Lucius Malfoy. I'm Narcissa Mal-Black." she corrected herself halfway though speaking. "This is my son, Draco. You must say you'll protect him from his father. I can't let him get ahold of my son."

Sarah, who was close enough to hear what was going on, put Harry down at her side and moved to help the woman. "We'll protect both of you, Narcissa. You can trust me that we'll make sure to tell the officers inside that you both need protection." She started to move towards the house.

Before Sarah could get too far, Narcissa grabbed her arm. "No! You have to take my son, I'm not going to make it! I need to know that he is in a safe place. Please..." she started coughing and Matt moved forward to help her. She waved him off before he could get too close though. "Could one of you please take him for a minute?" she asked.

Sarah stepped forward and took Draco into her arms as Narcissa handed him to her. She noticed that the boy was around the same age as Harry with platinum blond hair. He seemed to have a few bruises on his arms as well though many were fading, which made Sarah wonder how long he and his mother had been wondering. She couldn't tell much more as the boy was sleeping.

Narcissa smiled as she watched Sarah look down at her son fondly. Then she gave another cough and dropped to the ground. Matt jerked and dropped next to her to check her pulse. He waited a few seconds, but looked up at Sarah and shook his head gravely. Sarah gasped in horror. She looked at Matt and back at the slumbering child in her arms and then down at Harry who was playing with a flower. "Matt, I can't leave this boy with the police. He'd never understand what was going on. I'll have to take him with me and Harry." she said.

Matt nodded carefully with a look of understanding in his eyes alongside amusement. "You just seem to becoming everyone's favorite mother today." he said with a grin and a wink. Then he bent over and picked up Harry, who smiled up at him. Then Matt drove Sarah and her new charges back to her house and helped her carry the two sleeping children into her guest room.

After getting back downstairs, Sarah dropped into a chair. "Wow, I'm exhausted and that's before these two are even awake yet." Matt gave her a wink and a grin."Don't worry, Sarah. I'm sure you'll pick it up quite quickly. Now I have to get home and enjoy the rest of my evening off in peace." he winked again.

Before he left, Sarah stopped him. "You know, Matt. These kids are going to like you as well after I tell them you helped save them. Would you mind if they referred to you as an uncle?" Matt had a very surprised look on his face, but then he gave a big grin."I'd feel very honored. Thank you Sarah. I'll be sure to check in tomorrow and then give Richard a call so he knows what's happening." Matt waved and then left.

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The next morning, Harry arose to find another boy in the bed right next to him. He figured that the boy must be the same age as him and maybe he could make friends. He had never had a friend in his life until Miss Sarah had come to save him, but still not one his own age. His eyes widened as they were met by dark grey eyes.

The other boy sat up and looked at his companion as if to see whether he was dreaming or not. He flinched upon seeing the bruises on Harry's arms. Harry saw where he was looking and nodded. "My uncle gave me these. He was a very bad man. He never let me do anything fun. Oh, hey, I'm Harry!" he said smiling.

The other boy returned Harry's smile shyly. "Hello, my name's Draco. I use to get those from my dad, but my mom took me away and we ran for a long time. I wonder where she is." he said looking around.

"Miss Sarah said she went to join my Mommy and Daddy up in heaven and she can't come back, but she's always watching you!" Harry said solemnly.

Draco's eyes widened. "Well, then I guesses I'll have to make her happy. Who is Miss Sarah?"

"Miss Sarah is the really nice lady who saved you and me from the bad men." Harry said. "So, Draco would you like to be my friend?"

Draco looked at him in surprise, but then a grin spread across his face."Sure! Only if yous be my friend though!" Harry nodded back enthusiastically.

Harry grinned. "I'm glad you get to be my first new friend, Drake!" Draco looked at him in surprise, but then beamed at his new name.

Unnoticed by either of the two boys, Sarah stood in the doorway watching as her two new charges formed the bonds of friendship and brotherhood in front of her. She smiled as she thought of the changes these two would bring, but had no idea that soon there would be two more coming.

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In a house not too far from Harry's old house, a girl woke up and padded downstairs to join her family for breakfast. She smiled as her mother waved her wand and brought the pancakes soaring to her plate. Her father shook his head, since he was a Muggle and would probably never get used to magic completely. The girl just smiled and decided she'd enjoy her day.

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In another house across the town, another girl was waking up though to different circumstances since her parents were both Muggles. She got downstairs and grinned so her parents, who were dentists, could see how nice her teeth were coming in. Then she settled in to enjoy her breakfast.

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Three powerful figures smiled at each other as they watch over the four children, knowing what was going to take place. The only male smiled beneath his beard as he watched the two boys interact, knowing that the mistakes he had made with his best friend were not going to be emulated here. These four children were going to be connected as the same way he was with the two woman behind him and the man who had left them.

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**A/N:** Well, here's the first chapter. I really hope you like it. I'll start moving through the years pretty quickly after the four meet up, but I have to start out when they are young. Alright, now for some answers. Ron and Ginny and others will indeed be in this story, however, they don't have the same roles as the heirs do. They will indeed be friends and such, but the four who are heirs are like family. They may end up in the same house too....haven't decided yet...We'll see when that comes along. Btw, anyone have a guess on the second girl? Anyways, please send a review!


	3. Chapter 2: Add 2 to 2 to get 4

**Chapter 2: 2+2=4.**

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In the span of four days, Sarah had fallen in love with both of her new charges and it seemed the feelings were reciprocated. Both boys refused to leave her side anymore as if they were afraid that this all was a dream that was going to be snatched away if they closed their eyes. Sarah had told them multiple times that she wasn't going to let any more harm come to them, but she didn't think the message had completely sunk in yet.

After missing the past two days at work, Sarah decided to take Harry and Draco to visit her job so she could introduce them to Richard, who she had told them so much about. She also figured both boys would want to see their Uncle Matt as well. She drove the car into the parking lot in the back and removed both boys from their car-seats. Then she led them into the bank.

Harry stared around in wonder at the place where his new mother worked. It was huge and richly adorned with many silver hangings. He glanced at his new brother and saw that Draco was just as shocked as he was by the enormity of the building. "THIS is where you work, Miss Sarah?" he asked Sarah in awe.

Sarah smiled down at Harry and almost burst out laughing at the wonder and awe that was on both of her son's faces. "Yes, darling, this is where I work. I'll have to figure out what I'm going to do when my boss tells me it's time to return. I don't think I trust any babysitter with you two." Sarah ushered the two boys farther into the bank and saw Matt up ahead, who had not noticed the three of them yet. She watched as Draco spotted him and nudged his brother as the two took off running towards Matt.

Draco was taking in his surroundings with astonishment. He knew there were buildings like this seeing as he had grown up in Malfoy Manor, but he didn't expect to see one as a public place. As he glanced around, his gaze fell on Matt and his eyes lit up. He nudged his brother. "Harry, look over there! I didn't know that Uncle Matt worked here as well!"

Harry followed the direction that Draco was pointing in and saw Matt as well. His face lit up in a grin. He turned to Draco and both boys went sprinting towards their new Uncle.

Matt was trying to sort out a problem that some customer seemed to be having. She simply refused to trust her money to any of the tellers and wanted to put her money in her vault on her own. Matt knew that this was illegal and was trying to do his best to get the point across to the woman. Suddenly, his legs felt as if they would collapse under him as two small objects ran into them. Trying to keep from falling over, Matt placed a hand on a nearby desk and looked down to see Harry and Draco clinging to both of his legs.

Matt, glad for a reason to leave, excused himself from the lady with the serious problem and reached down to pick up both of his new nephews. Lifting them with no effort, he brought them up to eye level and looked at them very sternly. "Did you boys know that you are not supposed to run in this building. People may think that you are thieves or criminals."

Harry's eyes widened and he let out a gasp. "I promise that we wouldn't steal anything from this bank, Uncle Matt." Matt had to bite his lip to keep from laughing at the solemn looks on Draco and Harry's faces.

"Shame on you, Matt! You should know scaring children is a very bad idea." Sarah exclaimed as she joined the other three with a look of amusement on her face. She pulled her friend and her sons into a big group hug that left both boys giggling as they attempted to escape.

"What is going on out here? What is the source of all the ruckus in my bank?" Richard said as he strode across the floor towards Sarah and the other three.

Draco wriggled his way out of Matt's arms and rushed up in front of Richard. His face had a very serious look on it. "We is sowwi, Mister. We didn't mean to cause all the twouble. Pwease don't fire Miss Sarah or Uncle Matt."

Richard had a look of complete shock as the child explained that Harry and himself had been the cause of the trouble. Sarah and Matt were both doubled over in laughter as they watched Harry join his brother and assure Richard that the story was completely true.

Richard got down on one knee in front of the boys and put on a look of stern amusement. "Well, I don't think I could ever fire the my two best guards. However, I'm going to put you two in charge of things and make sure they don't cause so much noise again, alright?" he said wagging a finger at the boys. Both boys nodded and turned around with hands on their hips.

"You hear that Miss Sarah! This man says you and Uncle Matt have to behave in this place or he'll get angry." Draco said firmly. Sarah hid a grin as she nodded with wide eyes. Draco turned back to Richard. "You see, Mister. It won't happen again."

Sarah laughed and walked over to Richard and the kids. "Richard, these are the two boys I've been telling you about." She put her hand on Harry's head. "This one is Harry Potter." Then she put her hand on Draco's head. " And this is Draco Malfoy. Now be polite boys and say hello to my boss, Richard."

Both boys gave small bows. "It is an honor to meet you, Mister Richard." they said. Richard laughed as he watched the boys behave. Turning to Sarah he asked,"Are you certain that you're ready to come back? I can give you some more time off so you can spend it with the boys."

Sarah opened and closed her mouth as she struggled to say something."I-I-I" She let out a relieved sigh. "Thank you Richard, I can't show my gratitude enough."

Richard tipped her a wink. "Don't worry about it, Sarah. It's the least I can do. Now why don't you take these boys somewhere fun. I can tell they're starting to get antsy. What about going to the zoo and you can drag Matt along with you. I'm sure I can survive here without you two."

Matt spluttered in response, clearly not expecting that statement from his boss. On the other hand, Harry and Draco cried out in joy and started running circles around the three adults.

Richard laughed as he watched the boy's antics. "Well, you better get a move on before these two fall asleep. Enjoy yourselves." he said as he waved at both boys and walked back towards his office.

Matt turned to Sarah in surprise. "I never thought I'd see the day when I'd be given the day off twice in the course of 5 days. Well, we might as well get these two out to the car." Directing his attention at the boys, who were still running circles, Matt said,"Last one to the car gets thrown in with the Lions."

With that comment, Matt began jogging towards the back door. Harry and Draco halted immediately and both watched as Matt started jogging away. "That's not fair! He's got a head-start!" Harry exclaimed. Sarah watched amused as both boys took off full steam after Matt.

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She woke up with a smile on her face. She had been promised a trip to the zoo by her parents today since last week. She had had trouble getting to sleep last night because she was so excited for today to come.

The young girl dressed very quickly by throwing on a brown T-shirt and a blue-green spotted skirt. Shoving her pajamas on her bed, she quickly bounded down the stairs to see her parents in the kitchen enjoying their breakfast.

"What are you doing sitting around!??!" she exclaimed loudly. "We can't be sitting here now! It's time to go to the zoo! You promised!"

Her dad let out a laugh. "Don't worry, dear. We'll go to the zoo soon enough. How about you eat something first though?" He gestured towards the pancakes at her place at the table.

The little girl immediately sat down and started shoving the pancakes into her mouth while her parents looked on in utter amusement. When she finished, she wiped her face with a napkin, flashed a grin at her parents, and ran to grab her coat.

Her mother looked at her husband. "Were we ever that hyper when we were younger, Patrick?"

"Younger? I've no idea what you're referring to. I've always been a proper gentleman, Carolyn. Though to be fair, I never had any magic talent like you or our daughter."

The two adults went into the hall closet and took out the coats. Then, they walked to the front door, where their daughter was waiting impatiently, opened it and went to their car.

Getting in, the family drove ten miles while listening to the little girl's constant babbling about how much fun this trip was going to be. Carolyn looked at her husband in amusement and muttered under her breath. "We should have brought her to the zoo years ago." Patrick shook his head and smiled.

The family pulled into the parking lot and the girl started trying to unbuckle her car-seat, which did not succeed. She waited longer for her parents to get out and undo the harness. Jumping out of the vehicle, she seized her parent's hands and dragged them off towards the entrance. Both parents tried to keep a leisurely pace until the both gave into their daughter laughingly. The family was so focused that they missed the silver Subaru that was driving into the parking lot.

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Matt zig-zaged through the zoo parking-lot in his Subaru, looking for an open space. Finally seeing one, he pulled into it and shut the motor off. He and Sarah got out of the car and let both boys out of their car-seats. Harry and Draco got out of the car and took notice of their surroundings.

"I wonder what a zoo is." Draco said to Harry as they started for the entrance.

Pointing towards the area towards which they were walking, Harry said, "I think it must be that!" Draco glared at his brother briefly before shaking his head.

Sarah walked over to the counter and told the receptionist that they had two adults and two children. The lady took out four tickets and told Sarah the price. Sarah passed the bills over the counter and took the tickets in return.

The four of them walked inside with Draco looking around as if expecting something to jump out and yell, "ZOO!" Sarah looked down at her two sons and tilted her head. "How would you two like to start out in the Big Cats building?"

Having no idea what that meant, both boys nodded their heads. Matt led the way to the left towards a building with many fenced areas around the side. As they entered the building, Draco tried to see what could be within one of the fenced area, but couldn't.

Harry followed Matt inside and felt a rush of cool air hit him. He blinked and then looked around in wonder. It was as if they had walked into a jungle. he looked at his brother who gasped as he took in his surroundings. Sarah and Matt hid their smiles.

Matt walked up to the first panel of glass and looked out to see three lions lying lazily on top of two rocks in the shade. Draco and Harry moved up beside him to see what he was looking at. At that moment, the male lion began to yawn, opening his mouth and revealing the huge carnivorous teeth within. Draco's eyes widened until they looked like they would fall out.

Harry watched the lions for a few seconds longer and then raced off to find the next exhibit with Draco hot on his heels. Matt and Sarah grinned as they watched the boys run from one exhibit to the next, while making sounds of wonder and shock.

The results were the same at the other exhibits throughout the zoo. The boys would race ahead of the adults and stare in fascination at the different animals in the fenced area. Draco decided that his favorite animal was the rhino, while Harry picked the lion.

"Alright, we just have the reptile house left, boys!" Sarah called out to the boys. Both boys nodded and took off towards the last building on their zoo trip. Sarah shook her head. "Well, those two are going to sleep well tonight."

Matt tipped her a wink. "I'd agree with you if they were normal children, but I'm pretty sure their both wizards, so you may have more than you can handle." Sarah looked at her friend and smacked his arm lightly.

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"Where is it, Mommy?" the little girl asked. Carolyn peered into the desert environment, but could find no trace of the reptile. She looked back at the sign which read, Eastern Diamond-Back Rattlesnake. She glanced at her daughter, who was looking up at her with confused eyes. "Darling, I think the snake is tired and doesn't want to be looked at while he's sleeping."

The little girl nodded reluctantly before running over to join her father in front of a large window with a jungle and a pool behind it. Curled up in the water was a huge snake that was at least fifteen feet long. The girl stared wide eyed at the snake before glancing at her father, who laughed. "Anacondas get to be really big, pumpkin. They never stop growing their entire life"

The girl was so wrapped up in her discussion with her father that she didn't notice the three men enter the reptile house. It was a mistake she would later regret for some time after.

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Sarah watched the two boys reach the Reptile House doors and attempt to open them. She nudged Matt and pointed at the two boys. He shook his head in amusement and said, "What say we take our time? I don't think they'd mind waiting too much longer." Sarah mock glared at him. "Those boys wouldn't thank you if they knew what you just said."

Matt winked at Sarah. "So let's promise not to tell them." Sarah was about to make a witty comeback when a sound broke the silence that froze her heart. The peaceful quiet was suddenly broken by the noise of gunshots firing from the direction of the Reptile House. Screams and animal roars followed soon after.

Matt felt the smile slide off his face when he heard the shots and sprinted toward the boys who were looking at the door in surprise. He reached them and pushed them back towards Sarah as he kicked the door down.

Surveying the scene in front of him, Matt saw two gunman aiming their weapons at a girl, who looked around Harry and Draco's age, crying next to two bodies that were bleeding. Matt drew his gun and shot the first man in the head, which made him collapse. The other man whirled when he heard the noise and fired in Matt's direction. Matt dived behind a wooden bench as the man kept shooting it.

Staying low, Matt rolled to the left and came up firing straight at where he judged the man to be. The man went down with three holes in his chest. Matt quickly surveyed the rest of the building and saw nothing, so he quickly holstered his weapon.

Harry and Draco broke free of the mother's grip and ran forward towards the girl. As they did this, another man emerged from the shadows with his gun trained on the girl. "Don't move another step." he hissed at the boys, who froze. Turning to Matt, who was n the process of drawing his gun again, he said, "Put the gun on the floor or I'll shoot her."

Matt knew better than to draw his weapon, so he simply raised his hands above his head and using his peripheral vision, saw Sarah doing the same thing. He cursed himself for telling Sarah to leave her wand in the car. The gunman gestured to him and Sarah. "Now, I want you to go in the corner and take your brats with you. Don't make any unwanted movements or sounds and you'll be fine."

Draco and Harry were staring at the gunman in horror. Harry looked around to see if he could do something and saw that the exhibit on the gunman's right had no glass in front of it. The shots that felled the couple must have broken the glass. He looked within and saw an enormous snake resting in the water. He secretly nudged Draco and gestured towards the snake.

Draco followed his brother's gesture and saw the snake as well. Seeing no other option, he decided he'd have to yell at the snake. "_Help the girl!_ " Draco yelled at the snake and then heard Harry copy his lead.

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The gunman was smirking on the inside at the intelligence he had used on coming up with his plan. He had simply melted into the shadows in the corner of the room in case anyone had happened by. He had come out with his gun pointed at the gun after watching his comrades get shot by another man.

Now, he had the man and the woman listening to what he wanted because he held the girl at his whim. He smiled a smile full of evil thoughts as he watched the man and woman move towards the corner. He jerked when he heard a sound and was preparing to fire when he realized the boys were simply hissing at him. He laughed to himself. He realized the boys were simply showing their dislike for him and that no person was bound to hear them.

Suddenly, a sound occurred off to his right that sounded like something moving in water. He turned in that direction and screamed in horror. At least he had been right, no person had heard them....

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Matt watched as Sarah moved towards the corner and he began to follow her while trying to catch the eye of one of the boys, so as to make them come with him. Suddenly, he watched as Draco let out a loud hissing noise and a few seconds later the same sound came from Harry's mouth. He stopped moving in horror and turned towards the gunman anticipating what he would do since he heard a noise.

Matt watched the gunman's hand jerk and then his smile returned just as evil as before. He breathed a soft sigh of relief when he realized the gunman wasn't going to do anything.

A sudden movement at the edge of his vision caused him to look up and to the right of the gunman. Matt watched in astonishment as the Anaconda shot out of the water and extended itself in the air towards the gunman. He saw the gunman turn in surprise and scream in horror as the snake bit him and then wrap its coils around him. The snake began to squeeze the gunman to death.

Still unable to move his legs, Matt glanced at Sarah, who looked just as shocked as he did. Turning his attention back to the snake, he saw the man go limp and the snake uncoiled itself from the man, slithered back into the water, and proceeded to return to its previous state.

Snapping himself back together, Matt moved towards Harry and Draco, who were both staring in shock at the big snake. He dropped down so he was level with them and said, "Can I trust you two to keep that girl entertained while Sarah and I talk to the zoo guards?" Harry turned and gave a firm nod.

Harry walked up to the girl and tapped her on the shoulder. She jerked and looked up at him in fear. Harry gave her a big grin. "You don't have to worry! My brother and me were wondering if you could show us the different reptiles in here since you've already looked around."

Upon hearing this, the girl looked back down at the dead forms of her parents and started to tear up again. Draco stepped forward and threw his arm around her shoulder. "Come on with us, we can be your new friends! Don't worry about your parents, they get to go play with Harry's parents and my mother."

The girl looked at Draco and smiled. "You mean that?" she asked. Draco nodded his head and gestured for her to follow them. She jumped up and took the boy's hands and led them to one of the exhibits.

Harry smiled at her change of mood. "Glad to see that you're happy! Also, it's nice to meet you, I'm Harry Potter." He squeezed her hand as if he was shaking it. She looked at Draco who smiled. "Well, I'm Draco Black, though my real last name is Malfoy, but I don't like my dad. That's why I chose to go by my mom's name."

"Alright, so you're Draco and you're Harry. Well, I'm glad to meet both of you! My name is Hannah Abbott."

Draco smiled at Hannah. "Alright, well, then you can be our new best friend! Is that alright, Hanners?" Hannah looked surprised at what Draco called her, but then smiled and nodded.

Hannah led her new friends to the Rattlesnake exhibit and frowned slightly when she didn't see the snake. "I guess this guy is still sleeping."

Draco noticed the sadness in her voice. "Let's see if we can tell him to come and meet you." He decided he'd try to talk to the snake like he and Harry had told the other one to save Hannah. Draco tapped lightly on the glass. "_Pardon me, my new friend would like to see you._"

Hannah looked at Draco as he hissed at the glass and wondered what he was doing. Then she saw a head peak around a rock and the rattlesnake slithered to the front of the exhibit, looking at the three children. "How did you do that?" asked Hannah.

Harry looked at her funny. "Didn't you hear Drake? He told the snake you wanted to meet it." Hannah returned his look. "I didn't hear him say anything. All I heard was him hiss at the glass."

Harry and Draco exchanged glances as they had both heard what Draco had said quite clearly. They both assumed the snake had as well since it was now looking at them through the glass. Obviously, the snake could hear them, but they could not hear it because it looked to be hissing.

Hannah shook off the weird feeling and showed the two boys the other reptiles in the building. Soon she was laughing and joking with the two boys as if the three had been friends their entire life.

After explaining what had occurred to the police, Matt and Sarah walked over to where the three children where talking together. "Alright boys, we have to get going. It's been a very busy day and I know we're going to have to get you two to relax soon," said Sarah. "Say goodbye to your new friend."

Draco looked disappointed. "Miss Sarah, this is our friend, Hannah Abbott, but we call her Hanners. I don't want to leave her behind when she's alone." Harry looked up at Sarah with big bright eyes that seemed to be pleading.

"Her name is Hanners?" asked Matt, who wore a very confused look. Then understanding hit him in the face and he burst out laughing. He put his hand on Sarah's shoulder and managed to get out, "Well, you always wanted to have many children."

Sarah looked up at the heavens as if asking why and then gave a grin. "So, Miss Abbott, how would you like to come live with Draco, Harry, and myself?"

Hannah looked up at her in surprise. "You mean---You mean I could live with you?!" she asked hesitantly. "Of course I want to!" She looked at the excited grins on Harry and Draco's faces and all three were hugging each other and then Sarah the next moment.

After bidding goodnight to Matt, who had driven the other four home and then bid his new niece and nephews goodnight, Sarah walked past the kid's room and smiled as she saw the three cuddled up next to each other. She shook her head. They were afraid they would lose each other if they didn't stay close enough. Still smiling, Sarah headed off to her own bed.

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"Is everyone ready to go? We're on a tight schedule here!" Sarah called through the house as she hurriedly grabbed her badge off the dresser. She quickly descended the stairs and walked into the kitchen as she searched for her new children.

Draco was sitting at the table with his feet swinging as the hung over the stool. He was stabbing at the remnants of his breakfast with his spoon. He furrowed his brow as he attempted to split a cheerio in half with his spoon and blinked in surprise as the piece of cereal went soaring across the kitchen. He looked up and noticed that Sarah was in the room and gave a sheepish grin as he saw her eyes follow the piece of cereal. Sarah shook her head in amusement and then upon hearing a noise, glanced down at the floor where Harry resided.

Harry was lying casually on the ground sketching something on a piece of paper. His feet were in the air behind him and he was casually raising and lowering them as he continued to work on his sketch. Sarah became curious and peeked over the boy to see what he was drawing. Her eyes widened when she saw the detailed drawing her 5-year old son was making.

The drawing was of four people, specifically the three most important people in Harry's life and himself. Sarah was sitting on the ground with a flower between two fingers as she smelled its beautiful scent. Hannah was on her right side with a number of animals around her as she laid down in the grass. Her eyes were alight with laughter as she stroked the rabbit next to her. Draco was on Sarah's left and was in the process of tossing a football into the air. His eyes were focused on the football and one arm was in the process of being stretched out so as to catch it when it came back down. Harry was stretched out of the grass on Draco's left with a canvas in front of him. He had a paintbrush in his hand that was in the process of being lowered to begin some masterpiece.

Sarah noted that the picture depicted their family with the things they liked best. Over the year that the four of them has been together, they had discovered many things about each other. Hannah was a huge lover of animals and had received a rabbit, which she kept in a glass tank in her room. Draco loved to play different kinds of sports normally with Harry, though occasionally Hannah or Sarah would join in. He really wanted to start Quiddich with Harry, but Sarah had decided to have them wait a few years. Harry had taken to painting and drawing right away and now could normally be found with either a pencil or a brush on hand. Many of his paintings were scattered around the house in various places. Sarah had revealed to her children that she loved to be outdoors among the plants, which resulted in all three of them putting flowers in her room on occasion. Sarah had decided that the best decision she had made in her life had been to adopt all three of the children, which they had gone ecstatic over.

Sarah cast another glance around the kitchen and was surprised that Hannah was not down there with her brothers. "Boys, where would your sister be at this time?" she asked.

Harry glanced over at Draco, who caught his eye and then rolled his eyes. "Hannah doesn't feel like going to our sitter's today," said Draco. "She's up in her room and refuses to come out. We asked her a few times."

Sarah blinked in surprise at what her elder son said. "Doesn't she realize that I have to be a work soon?" she asked. "I don't have time for her to be playing games today." Sarah turned on the spot and stormed out of the room. Both boys could hear her going all the way up the stairs and towards Hannah's room.

"I think that's the first time I've ever seen her look that angry," Draco said in surprise. He looked down at his brother who waved his hand as if he wasn't interested. "She's not really angry, Drake. She just knows that's the best course to get Hannah to come out of her room." said Harry disinterestedly.

Draco slid from the stool and padded over to the sink and put his bowl into the sink. Turning around, he shrugged vaguely. "Well, if that works then I guess we had best get ready to head out."

Harry nodded reluctantly and slipped his drawing into his sketchbook, which he set on the kitchen table. Then he joined his brother in going to grab his jacket. As the two boys came out of the closet, the looked up to see Sarah and Hannah coming down the stairs talking as if nothing was wrong. Harry looked at his brother and shook his head in confusion. "I don't think I'll ever understand how they can be angry one minute and then cheerful the next," he whispered. Draco tipped his brother a wink.

"All hands to the car!" Sarah announced as she led everybody out the door, which she locked behind her. Hannah turned guiltily towards her brothers and stared at the ground. "I'm sorry, guys," she said. "I shouldn't have acted that way."

Draco waved her apology away with his hand. "Don't worry about it, Hanners! We're your family, we know you don't mean any offense by it." Harry smiled and nodded in agreement with Draco's statement.

Hannah threw her arms around her brothers, who were both taken by surprise, but hugged her back. "I love you guys so much! Thanks, Drake and Harry!" Sarah hid a smile as she watched her children in a big group hug.

"Alright, my dears, we have to go now!" exclaimed Sarah as she check her watch. Harry and Draco both smirked at each other and followed their sister into the car.

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"I really think that she needs to get some things for children to do here," complained Hannah as she flopped on the floor. Mrs. Kettle was a much older lady who Sarah knew because was a friend of her mother's. The only problem was that Mrs. Kettle had never had any children, so Hannah and her brothers would have to bring their own things to do to keep themselves occupied.

Harry looked up from a painting he was working on. "You just have to remember to bring things with you, Hanners. You have to remember that Mrs. Kettle has never had children."

"That's easy for YOU to say. You just need to bring a brush and a piece of paper," retorted Draco, who stuck his head over the coach, which he was lazily lying across.

Harry opened his mouth to respond and then shut it again knowing that his brother was right. All he truly needed was a brush or a pencil and he could keep himself occupied.

"Man, I wish something would just happen!" sighed Hannah. Upon saying this, Hannah raised her hands above her head before slapping them back at her sides.

Suddenly, a huge explosion rocked the area and the windows exploded inwards, forcing the three children to shield themselves. Mrs. Kettle came running into the room with a worried expression on her face, which immediately became relieved as she saw the children were alright. "We need to get outside right now!" she exclaimed.

Harry and Draco both seized one of Hannah's arms and sprinted outside where the tumbled to the grass to catch their breath. They all raised their heads where they heard Mrs. Kettle's intake of breath. Not too far down the street, a house was in flames. The orange flames covered the entire building and were making the former purple paint turn black.

Harry was staring at the first floor when he saw a flicker of movement at the corner of his eye and looked at the 2nd floor right window. His eyes widened in astonishment as he saw a girl about his age who was staying near the window. He quickly motioned to his brother and sister and pointed out the other girl to them. They both gasped in horror as they saw the girl was still alive. "We have to rescue her!" Harry said firmly. The other two nodded their assent.

Dodging around Mrs. Kettle, the three children sprinted towards the burning house. Ignoring Mrs. Kettle's calls, the jumped through a large hole in the door and started up the stairs making sure they didn't touch anything that was burning. As they reached the top of the stairs, Harry looked around trying to guess where they were so as to find the other girl. Draco yelled and pointed to a door down the hallway. "I can hear some whimpering from down there! Come on!"

Reaching the door, Harry tried the doorknob, which the fire hadn't reached yet, and found it locked. He turned to his brother and sister in hopelessness. "She'll never open the door, she's too scared!"

Draco didn't even think about what he did next and just raised his palm at the door. Harry heard a small click come from the inside and blinked in surprise. He turned the knob and the door opened into a very girly room. The girl that Harry had spied was sitting on a dresser next to the window sobbing into her hands. She was around the same age as the other three with bushy brown hair. When she looked up at the others, they noticed her brown eyes were red from the crying. She also had two very prominent front teeth, in comparison to a chipmunk.

Harry made a gesture towards the door when he caught her eye. "We're here to get you out! We have to leave now though, before the fire spreads too much!" said Harry.

Hannah ran over to the girl's side and took her hand. "Hey there, my name's Hannah Abbott. These two are my brothers," said Hannah, gesturing to the boys. "That is Harry Potter and Draco Black." Both boys inclined their heads when Hannah mentioned their name. Draco had a smile on his face as he contemplated how Hannah had called him Black instead of Malfoy.

The girl gave them all a watery smile before replying, "My name is Hermione Granger."

Hannah smiled briefly before seeing Harry make a subtle gesture that they should be leaving before the building came down around them. She helped Hermione stand and let the other girl lean on her as they walked back out into the hallway.

They were halfway down the hall when a burning piece of wood fell in front of them blocking their path and prompting Hannah and Hermione to scream out loud. "What are we supposed to do now?" asked Hermione in a panic.

Harry turned to look at his brother, who was shaking with fear, and decided to try what his brother had done earlier. He narrowed his eyes and was about to raise his hand when the block of wood went soaring backwards and out of their way. Harry stared in amazement before remembering that he had to get them out of the building.

The four of them started making their way down the stairs when the stairs suddenly collapsed under them and they started falling. Harry let out a cry and could hear the others do the same beside him. He reached over and grabbed Draco's hand in mid-air before shutting his eyes.

Draco had his eyes shut tight and was waiting for the shocks of pain from when he hit the floor, but surprisingly nothing was happening. He opened his eyes warily and looked below him to see he was floating a few inches above the ground and that bits of wood were falling all around him, but not touching him. He looked over at his brother to see Harry with his eyes shut. Next, he glanced at the girls and he saw them both clutching each other shaking, but each had a palm outstretched towards the floor. He squeezed Harry's hand and saw his brother's eyes open and then widen in shock.

"What is going on?" Harry asked.

"I have no idea, but I think it's something similar to what you and I did earlier," replied Draco.

"Well, maybe we should tell them to let us down now."

"Harry, I think you're close enough to the ground to just jump down," said Draco before he burst into laughter. Harry soon followed him and both boys fell to the ground, where they rolled around laughing. Upon hearing the laughter, the girls opened their eyes and immediately fell to the floor and joined the boys in the happy moment.

After a few minutes, Hannah stopped and sat up. "I think we should get out of here. Mrs. Kettle will be worried sick about us." The boys nodded and stood up, offered a hand to the girls, and then proceeded out the hole in the door.

The first thing Harry saw upon leaving the house was Sarah and Matt having a heated conversation with some of the police officers nearby. Harry watched as Sarah caught sight of the four of them and gasped. She pushed past the cops and raced towards the children. Harry was already running towards her and he knew Draco and Hannah were as well. Harry and the other two met Sarah halfway and were swept into a bone-crushing hug. After a few minutes, Sarah released the children and looked at them sternly. "If you EVER do that to me again, I will have to confine you to your rooms forever!"

Harry and Draco looked down guiltily, but Hannah stuck out her chin. "We didn't have a choice, Mama Tay," she said. "There was someone in trouble!"

Sarah repressed a smile at the name. Hannah had decided that since they were adopted, they should give their new mother a name. She had decided on Mama Tay because of her last name of Taylor and Sarah had been unable to deny the new name especially after Draco and Harry had picked up on it quickly.

Hermione was watching the exchange feeling very sad and also feeling a bit of longing to belong. She looked back at her house and started feeling tears welling up in her eyes. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned to find Sarah looking at her with eyes of understanding and she knelt down and opened her arms. Hermione leaped into her arms and stayed there as she cried over all the things she had lost.

"If anyone knows how to help 'Mione, it's Mama Tay," said Draco confidently. "She knows how to make everyone feel better!"

The three siblings were standing off to the side watching as Sarah comforted Hermione during this troubled time. Matt came up beside the three and looked at them curiously. "You three always have a knack of being in trouble, don't you?"

Hannah looked up at her uncle with a face of perfect innocence. "Whatever do you mean Uncle Matt?" she asked. Matt raised his eyebrows as Harry and Draco roared with laughter.

Sarah looked back just in time to see Matt start tickling Hannah, who was shrieking with laughter, and watched as Harry and Draco jumped into the fray to help their sister. Then she looked at the crying girl in her arms and thought about how she had lost everything and everyone she had ever cared about. It took her less than two seconds before she made her decision. She raised Hermione's head so they were looking eye-to-eye. "How would you like to come and live with us?"

Hermione's eyes got very wide. "You mean I could come live with you, Harry, Draco, and Hannah?" she asked. When Sarah nodded, Hermione shrieked and hugged her so tightly as if she would never let go.

Sarah led Hermione over to where the huge tickle fight was occurring and cleared her throat. "Excuse me, I have an announcement to make," she said with a smile. "Hermione has decided to come and live with us as your new sister!"

The other three gasped in amazement and then let out cries of excitement. Then Harry gave a big grin to Hannah and Draco. "I think we know what this calls for!" he exclaimed.

"GET HER!" yelled Harry as he pointed at Sarah. Then he launched himself at his adopted mother and began tickling her as Draco and Hannah quickly followed his lead. Hermione stared wide-eyed until she saw Harry beckon to her and then she leaped into the fray as the four children forced Sarah onto the ground as she shrieked with laughter. Matt was grinning as he watched the new family roll around on the ground and laugh.

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After she finished tucking the kids in, Sarah picked up the Daily Prophet and flopped down on the couch to read. She unfolded it and doing her normal ritual, scanned the paper from back to front. She flipped to the front page and skimmed through the article and then did a double take and read the headline. She felt her blood freeze in her veins.

**Boy who Lived could be in Danger!**

_By: Rita Skeeter_

_Earlier this morning, two very well known criminals escaped from Azkaban mysteriously. Sirius Black and Bellatrix Lestrange (pictured below) were found missing from their cells when ministry officials came to check in on the two this afternoon. The dementors are in uproar as no escape has ever been made from the prison before. Sirius Black, alongside Remus Lupin, was known to have murdered Peter Pettigrew, a friend from his school days. Bellatrix Lestrange, Sirius' cousin, was sent to Azkaban after she and three others drove both the Longbottom elders insane. Black was known to have been muttering about finishing a job in his sleep, which sounds like he wishes to finish what You-Know-Who tried to accomplish with Harry Potter. We are hoping that Mr. Potter has been protected very securely and can wish him the best of luck during this dark time._

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A/N:**Yes, I do happen to realize that this is much later than I would've liked this to have gone up, but I started college about three weeks ago and have been pretty busy.... so I'll have to hope that next chapter won't take as long. What did you think about the newspaper at the end? Anyone have an idea of what's coming next? Please review if you read, it really does brighten up a day!


	4. Chapter 3: Sirius Trouble

**Chapter 3: That's Some Sirius Trouble.

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_Life was feeling very good at that moment. _

Her eyes opened as she felt the sunlight stream in through the blinds. Blinking to clear the sudden brightness she glanced around her. On her left, her sister, Hermione, was clearly still sleeping. She rolled over to see Draco's head lying against a pillow with his eyes clearly shut.

_Wait a minute, Draco never sleeps next to me. Harry always does. _

Realizing that her other brother must already be up, Hannah crawled across the bed to peer over the side. Harry was there lying on his stomach doodling on a piece of paper, seemingly oblivious to his sister.

_Of course he would be drawing. What else would Harry be doing? _

Shaking her head, she was about to say good morning before an idea struck her. She looked back at Draco and grinned knowing that he would be proud of her. She turned back towards Harry and jumped.

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Sarah was down in the kitchen, drying off one of her dishes. She was humming to herself as she finished up. Reaching for another dish, she paused thinking she heard a noise upstairs.

_Oh jeez, it must be my mind hearing things again. I would know for sure if they were awake. _

Suddenly, there was a large thump and a huge "OOF" that sounded from upstairs and Sarah put the dish down. She walked quickly to the stairs ready to see if everything was alright. A boy skidded around the corner and bounded down the stairs, hiding behind Sarah's legs. "I swear I never taught her to do that!" was all he said.

_Do what? What is Draco talking about?_

Her question was answered as Harry rounded the corner looking rather irate. He spotted Draco almost immediately and started for the stairs. Draco's response was to take off in a flash with Harry following behind. Sarah shook her head, knowing she'd never get an answer out of those two. She climbed the stairs and peered into the children's bedroom.

Hermione looked up at her entrance. "Don't look at me. I was sleeping."

Sarah raised an eyebrow warily before inquiring to the whereabouts of Hannah.

Hermione shrugged. "I'm not sure, but she was laughing herself silly when I awoke. I'm fairly certain she's the culprit." She winked at Sarah before heading out of the room.

Sarah walked over to the open sketchbook on the floor and glanced at it. There was the start of a drawing except for the huge scribble in the middle of the paper. She grinned as she looked up. Looking over at the only other inhabitant of the room, she sighed. "What do you think, Carrottop? Think your owner could be the mischievous one here?" The rabbit continued to munch on his namesake without giving any indication he had heard Sarah. She laughed as she went to track down the boys.

Draco had led Harry on a merry little chase around the house before he was cornered. Harry proceeded to hold his brother down and attempt to extract an apology. Firstly, for corrupting Hannah and secondly, for scaring him out of his wits. Draco had been trying to explain that it wasn't his fault which only tightened the hold on his arms before Hannah finally walked in and admitted that it was her fault. Harry immediately freed Draco, exchanged a glance with Draco and both boys jumped on Hannah and started tickling her. Hermione raced in to help her sister, which only made her a target as well. This all out tickle war lasted for quite some time before the four lay flat on the backs too tired to move anymore.

"I don't understand how other children can ever say they had loads of fun," said Hermione. "They have never truly understood what fun is."

"They can't say it. Well, they can until they hear what we did!" said Harry as he grinned.

Hannah looked at her brother intently. "So does this mean you'll stop being so boring?"

"Boring? What do you mean boring?"

"She means that you keep your head lodged in your scrapbook too much."

Harry glared at his brother before glancing at Hannah. "I didn't realize you felt neglected, Hanners. We'll have to have fun more often."

"That'll have to wait Harry dear. We have to go shopping so you actually have some food to eat," said Sarah as she walked into the room. "And this time, No sneaking food!" Sarah mock-glared in Draco's direction, who was grinning a huge smile trying to look innocent.

Hannah giggled. "You're not a girl, Drake. That look doesn't work on you. Besides, we all know it was you."

"You're one to talk! Who was it that stole those Cockroach Clusters off the table last week?"

"Cockroach Clusters?" Hermione's head had shot up. "It was you who stole those!"

Hannah let out a squeak and was up and running for the stairs before anyone had the chance to react. Hermione was up and after her in a minute. Sarah shook her head and yelled up after them. "Don't forget to get changed and be down here shortly!"

Turning to the amused boys, Sarah raised an eyebrow. Draco grinned in response. "Alright Mama Tay, we'll be right back."

Sarah looked up at the ceiling as the boys trooped out. _Matt was indeed right. It certainly will never be boring around here. The only thing I can't do for those boys is be a father figure. _Sarah let out a sigh before hearing what sounded like a herd of hippogriffs descending the stairs.

* * *

_I'm bored. This place needs something interesting. _Harry trailed behind Sarah and his sisters and they skimmed the aisles for food. Harry looked to his left where the Bakery was located. _Now, that looks interesting!_

Harry wandered over to a basket filled with Baguettes and was about to grab one when a voice spoke behind him.

"What are you doing?"

Harry grabbed the baguette and whipped around to see his brother looked surprised. "En Garde!"

Turning around, Draco grabbed another baguette from behind him, crossing it with Harry's. "At your will, sir"

_This is much better._ Harry thought as the bread war began.

* * *

The loud noises were the first clue. _Why on Earth are there people cheering so loudly. _Leaning closer to Hermione and Hannah, she whispered, "Jeez, you two would think people could behave in public, but they can be as bad as your brothers."

All three shared a grin and Hannah let a giggle escape. Sarah turned around waiting for one of the boys to ask what was funny. There was no one behind her. She froze for a second thinking they had been stolen before her brain caught up. "Come with me you two! I think I know why there is so much noise!"

The three females backtracked to the bakery. _I knew that something was up. These two are troublemakers. _Sarah surveyed the crowd that had drawn up surrounding the two boys who were twirling around with bread swords in their hands. She noted the large number of other children egging on her sons before glancing back at her daughters. Both were watching their brothers, but not with signs of enthusiasm.

"You two stay right here."

"Ok Mama Tay, we'll guard the cart," saluted Hannah with Hermione nodded her agreement.

Sarah pushed her way through the crowd and ended up right behind Draco. As she reached out to grab him, Draco ran towards Harry, who dived out of the way, and brought the baguette down on a tall man standing there. Sarah mentally hit herself as the surrounding crowd went silent and began to slowly break up.

Draco was on his knees in front of the man begging for forgiveness alternating with apologizing. Harry stepped next to his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. "It's my fault, sir. I was the one who started the whole fight. Please don't blame my brother."

The man has a roguish grin on his face and at Harry's words he let out a loud barking laugh. "That's alright young one. A good prank never did anyone any harm. Trust me, I'd know." He winked at them.

"Yes well, it does require an apology," said Sarah as she walked up behind the boys. Surveying the man, Sarah noted he was about 6'2" with long black hair hanging about to his shoulders. He skin was quite dark with a few noticeable scars on his forearms and neck. Looking into his eyes, she noticed they were a steel grey seemingly filled with lots of pain. The eyes jolted through her reminding her of a time not too long ago. "Besides, pranks can indeed get you into some serious trouble. I knew some pretty serious pranksters in school." Looking down at her sons she smiled. "Since you apologized I think we are set. And this time don't go wandering off. Understand James and Marius?" Both boys nodded firmly.

Sarah had decided that it wasn't safe to go around in public with people knowing who they were. She had glamoured all four of the kids to look similar and referred to them by their middle names. She looked at the man to see if he had noticed anything suspicious and saw his brow was furrowed. His eyes widened for a second before returning to normal that Sarah was sure she had imagined it. Apologizing one last time, she steered the boys towards their sisters to finish up shopping.

* * *

Reaching the check-out, Sarah, Draco, and Hermione started unloaded items to total up the bill. Hannah looked around to see Harry trailing behind slowly, having not reached their area yet. She dropped back next to him and tapped his shoulder. "What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing!" retarded Harry.

"Well, that's not true," said Hannah. "You don't walk around like this if nothing is wrong." As she spoke, Hannah mimicked Harry's pose and facial expressions identically resulting in Harry almost laughing before he caught himself and just smiled. Hannah's eyes danced with laughter. "That's more like it. Now what's up?"

"It's my fault. I'm the one who caused Dra-Marius to hit that man. I went looking for trouble and that fight just started and…" He threw up his arms exasperated. "It's just my fault."

Hannah studied him a minute before responding. "Let me ask you something. Does Marius blame you?" Harry looked as his brother before shaking his head. "Mama Tay?" Another shake. "The man?" Another shake. "Any of the employees here?" Harry shook his head again. "Then there you go! No one blames you except yourself, so stop being such a fool, James."

Harry opened his mouth to retort before shutting it. He thought for a few seconds and then grinned and hugged his sister. "Thanks Grace, I love you!"

"Love you too James!"

The two children walked over to the rest of their family chatting and laughing putting any thoughts of guilt behind them. Neither of them noticed the man staring at their family suspiciously trying to piece together a puzzle in his mind. Watching them leave, he decided to follow.

After unloading the groceries and simply dumping the bags in the kitchen, Sarah glanced at the time and had to bite back a swear word. It was half past seven and she had promised to drop off some forms at the bank to acknowledge that she was leaving. "Listen kids, I need to run a quick trip over to the bank. I'll be back as quickly as I can, but you know the rules. Leave the door locked and do not answer it. Understand?" She received four curt nods. "Alright, would you four do me a favor and put these groceries in the proper places?" Again there were four nods. She laughed and headed out the door locking it behind her.

* * *

Putting the groceries away took very little time and the kids were back in their bedroom. Hermione was curled up in the corner reading a book. Hannah was in the process of dropping carrots in to Carrottop's cage. Harry was flopped on the bed with his arms and legs flayed out around him. Draco shook his head smiling as he glanced at his brother. "Why aren't you using your scrapbook?"

"Don't feel like it."

Hermione's eyes raised to look at her brother before returning to the book. "Yeah, looks like you don't feel like doing anything."

"I'm quite comfortable right here," was the response.

_Yeah, I'm sure you are. You're also lying across the entire bed…_

Draco was about to voice his thoughts when he heard a thump from downstairs. he whirled around and peered out of the doorway towards the stairs. He looked back to see Harry had gotten off the bed and was headed towards him. Hannah and Hermione were both looking in his direction.

THUMP!

The noise came again this time much louder as if someone was trying to break down the door Sarah had charmed. Draco looked at his brother, who had reached his side, and nodded. "We'll be right back," he said over his shoulder to the girls.

_I really hope this isn't a robber. He picked a fine time to arrive with no adult in the house… _Draco followed his brother down the stairs and saw it light up outside as there was another thump. Both boys ran for the closet.

Harry yanked it open and tossed Draco a rake. _Fine lot of good this will do. _Reaching back in, Harry pulled out a shovel and shut the door. The noise of the door closing was overpowered by the crack as the front door was kicked in.

The intruder stepped in cursing under his breath. He brushed some wood fragments from his cloak. Suddenly, he glanced towards the stairs and took a step in that direction. _He must have heard Hannah and Hermione. _

"AHHHHHHHH!" Draco came charging out with Harry behind him. The man jerked glancing in their direction. Draco swung the rake bringing it down as the man jumped back, but it caught him on his forearm leaving three scratches. The man let out a string of curses as Draco dropped the rake and dashed towards the light. He flicked it on as he turned seeing Harry swinging the shovel as hard as he could towards the intruder.

The light came out revealing the man's face and causing him to shut his eyes momentarily. Draco saw his brother going in for the hit when he suddenly stopped and dropped the shovel. He was standing in shock looking at the man. Draco was about to ask if he was nuts when Harry spoke one word. "Padfoot?"

* * *

The intruder was cursing from the scratches inflicted by the rake in Draco's hand when Harry lifted the shovel and prepared to swing. His brother was already dashing for the lights to uncover their intruder. Harry started swinging as the lights flared to life temporarily blinding the man. This also gave Harry the perfect view of his face.

_I know him! But that's not possible. You were told he was thrown away. Then explain how he's right there. _Harry felt as if his mind was having a fight of its own. He felt the shovel slip out of his grasp as he knew which side of his brain was right. Harry stared into his face. "Padfoot?"

The man's eyes shot open revealing the steel grey irises that had been hidden. Harry gasped and ran at the man, tackling him around the legs which sent him to the ground. Neither one of them cared. They were both hugging each other and that was what mattered.

Harry stepped back. "I-I heard you were locked away."

"I escaped."

"Why?"

Padfoot let out a barking laugh. "Am I not allowed to want to see my godson?"

"Y-y-you're the man from the store. The one I hit…" Draco had moved forward when he heard the laugh.

Padfoot focused on Draco, who flinched back. He nodded with a small smile.

"Drake, this is my godfather, Sirius Black," gestured Harry. "Padfoot, this is my brother, Draco Black."

Draco gasped at the shared last name while Sirius looked at him sharply. Finally, he smiled and gestured to the boy. "Come here Draco. I'm your cousin, Sirius, although I doubt you've heard of me."

"My cousin?"

"I was disowned by my parents which is why you wouldn't know of me," muttered Sirius darkly. "That stupid old hag."

Draco seemed to process this information before running up and hugging him like Harry had. Sirius seemed quite surprised, but wrapped his arms around the boy as he returned the gesture.

"Perhaps you can explain what is going-" began Sirius after Draco had stepped back.

"_Stupify!"_

_"Protego!" _

Sarah had returned and had immediately tried to stun Sirius, but he reacted quickly with the shield charm. Sarah raised her wand again, but Harry jumped between the two with Draco a second behind him. "No!"

Sarah looked at him stunned. "Harry, you don't know who this man is or what he's done."

"You can't hurt Padfoot, Mama Tay," said Harry firmly.

"Harry, this is the man who had your parents killed…"

"I would NEVER-" began Sirius.

"NO!" yelled Harry. "He was their friend! He would never hurt Mum or Dad."

"You don't understand what's going on Harry. These are dark times…"

"Please Mama Tay, just talk to him!" pleaded Harry. "Let him explain!"

Sarah opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off again.

"Harry's right, Mama Tay," said Draco quietly. "Just promise you'll listen to him."

Sarah looked at the heart wrenching expressions on her son's faces before looking at Sirius. "Wands on the table. Then we'll talk." She looked back at Harry. "Upstairs with you two. I'll get you when this is done."

"Just don't make him leave, Mama Tay," whispered Harry as he headed for the stairs. Draco was following him up.

Sarah turned already seeing Sirius' wand on the table proceeded to drop her own next to it before sitting down. "Take a seat, Black."

"You already know my name. What am I to call you?"

Sarah didn't deign to respond, but simply glared at him. "I'm only listening because Harry told me to give you a chance to explain. If you would kindly do so."

"I didn't kill the Potters. I was set up."

Sarah snorted showing how likely she thought that was. "You expect me to believe that? After you killed Pettigrew? After you betrayed your best friends to Voldemort?"

Sirius looked at her. "Is that really what you believe? Out of all the people, you should know differently, Sarah."

Sarah looked at him in shock. She couldn't have heard him correctly.

"You thought I had forgotten you? The only female in Ravenclaw to get a detention during my years there. Well, the Dementors couldn't take everything from me," he spat out. He took a deep breath to calm himself. "I thought you would understand after our conversation at that detention."

Sarah was at a loss for words, just staring at Sirius.

"You don't remember when I broke down crying because everything was going wrong?" continued Sirius. "You don't remember when I cursed Voldemort for taking my favorite cousin, Bellatrix, from me? Or when they had stolen my own brother, Regulus?"

Sirius took another deep breath before continuing. "Yet you seem to think that I would turn to Voldemort in order to betray the last real family I had left. James Potter was my best friend. He was my brother. He was -" Sirius broke off and put his head in his hands as the tears flowed freely.

Suddenly, two hands were on either side of his head lifting it up. His eyes met bright blue ones filled with unshed tears. "I've always remembered when you told me those things and I always will. You don't ever forget pouring out your soul to someone, Sirius."

Sirius turned his head to look at the wall. "And yet you believed everything with me turning traitor, betraying the Potters, and killing Peter."

She turned his head back to hers and forced him to look into her eyes filled with pain, loss, and hurt. "I had to Sirius. If I let myself listen to the truth…to what my heart told me, I would've gone to Azkaban to release you myself. I knew you could never kill the Potters."

"I didn't betray them, but I good as had them killed."

"Sirius!" gasped Sarah. "Never say that! You couldn't have done it."

"I was the one who told them to switch Secret Keepers. I persuaded James to use Peter instead of me!" Sirius sobbed. "If I had never made that suggestion, this wouldn't have happened."

"No, it wouldn't. Instead you would be lying dead with them. Voldemort would've killed you as well."

"Perhaps that would be the best world," muttered Sirius darkly.

SMACK! "Don't you ever say that, Sirius Black!" hissed Sarah. "What about the two boys upstairs who need you? What about me? Would you leave me again?"

Sirius stood up pulling Sarah with him. "No! I will never do that again. I can't lose you again." He leaned in and kissed her to which she responded immediately. Pulling away, he looked at her again. "I love you," he whispered.

"I love you too." Sarah's eyes were bright and shining as she leaned in for another kiss.

This time as he pulled away, Sirius dropped to a knee taking Sarah's hands in his own. He looked up at her face and smiled. "Ever since that soul sharing in detention during my seventh and your sixth year, I've thought about you. Even during the war when everything seemed dark and hopeless, I had hope because of you. Not even the dementors could rid me of the feelings that I hold for you despite how hard they tried." Sirius paused for a moment before continuing. "Then running into you at the grocery store. Even with all the glamour on, I still realized it was you. My heart knew in an instant and convinced me to follow. What I'm asking is, Sarah Taylor, will you marry me?"

Sarah had tears sliding down her face, but the large grin was a dead giveaway. "Yes, Sirius Black, I will marry you."

Sirius stood up, wrapping his arms around her as they kissed again. The moment seemed to go on forever even though it was just a few minutes.

Sarah pulled away, but kept a hold of Sirius' hand. Turning, she called up the stairs, "Kids, would you come down here, please!"

There was the sound of small feet running down stairs and four kids were standing there. The two girls were curiously eyeing Sirius as the boys were both smiling seeing that the fight was over.

Sarah dropped to their level and smiled. "Everyone, I'd like you to meet your new father."

Harry was running at Sirius in a flash, knocking him over as he screamed and yelled for joy. Hannah and Hermione looked at each other before following their brother and giving Sirius huge hugs. Draco was still standing looking a bit put out.

"What's wrong, Draco? Aren't you happy?" Sarah asked him.

He nodded slowly. "But what are we supposed to call you now! You're changing your name!"

The laughter in the house continued for some time.

* * *

_Give it up, that'll never work. _Sirius laughed as he walked up behind Harry, who was furiously trying to keep his hair down. "Trust me Harry, that's a useless cause. It never worked for James and I doubt it'll work for you."

Harry shot him a disgruntled look causing Sirius to be reminded of James and let out a barking laugh. "Besides, I've never noticed you caring about your hair before. Why do you care now? You're among friends."

There was a muttered response that Sirius didn't quite hear and was about to ask him to repeat that when Draco walked in dressed in his own suit. "Ma-Sarah told us that we needed to look our best."

The kids had tried to think of a new name for Sarah and had thrown out a few suggestions. Sarah had laughed and told them to refer to her by her name since it would be much easier that way. The boys were still getting used to the idea.

Sirius rolled his eyes and got down to the boy's level. "Well, she's not the only one getting married and I think you both look your best right now."

Harry stopped fiddling and threw his godfather a big grin. "Thanks Padfoot."

"I feel bad for our sisters though," said Draco thoughtfully.

Sirius looked quizzical. "Why do you say that, Draco?"

"Oh, I just walked past that room and caught some of the conversation."

_Humming to himself, Draco tried to loosen to cuffs of this shirt as he felt a bit of pressure on his arms. He was heading for the room where the rest of the boys were currently getting dressed. Having been the first one done, he had slipped out to wander around for a bit. As he past another door, part of the conversation slipped out and he stopped dead._

_"-wear this and that's the end of it!" Sarah's irritated voice said._

_"Why? I don't wanna where that dress!" _

_"Hermione Jean Granger, you are going to look your best for this ceremony just like your sister and brothers!"_

_"But Hannah already told me she hates her dress! You know she doesn't like pink!"_

_"This isn't a debate, young lady. You're putting this on and-"_

_There was the sound of a door opening and a male voice interrupted. "Sarah, you need to take a few deep breaths and calm down. Matt's voice sounded relaxed as if he'd dealt with situations like this before._

_"Matt, that's-"_

_"You're just scared. That's perfectly acceptable seeing as it's your wedding day. However, you don't need to take any anger out on your daughters. How about you let Richard deal with them. Just take a few deep breaths. I'll go out and grab you some water."_

_Draco heard this and saw the drinking fountain to his left. His eyes widened and he quickly speeded up, not wanting to be caught listening outside the door._

"This is the time where I'm glad I can't see Sarah until the ceremony. I may wind up with an injury on my a-" Sirius stopped, aware of both boys looking at him interestedly. "Injuries on me everywhere." The boys looked rather disappointed.

"Heard the story from our eavesdropper then?" Matt commented as he walked into the room looking at Draco. Draco flushed red, but saw Matt wink at him. "Don't worry about it, I'm a guard. I'm used to picking up sounds like that."

Sirius rolled his eyes at his Best Man as he finished tying his tie. Sarah had told Matt the good news and invited him over to meet Sirius right away. The two men had hit it off immediately and as Matt was leaving, Sirius asked him to be Best Man. Matt accepted straight away with a huge grin.

Sirius was nervous. There was no other way to put it. He was standing in front of the altar in the secluded church they had chosen and he was scared out of his wits. _A bit ironic really. Give me dark wizards or witches anyway, but when it comes to marriage I'm shaking…_

He looked next to him to see Harry and Draco standing there trying their best not to fidget. They were both wearing suits. Harry had on a red striped tie while Draco's was a dark green. Glancing to his right, Sirius saw Matt still looking as imposing as ever even wearing a tuxedo. Matt caught his eye and smiled before flicking his eyes behind Sirius.

Sirius turned to see Hermione and Hannah come down the aisle tossing flowers as they came. Hermione had on a bright blue dress and her hair was brushed down. Hannah was dressed in a dark yellow dress with her hair let down to her shoulders. _Seems Matt was able to calm Sarah somewhat seeing as Hannah isn't in pink anymore. _

Sirius stopped thinking and just stared when Sarah came around the corner. She was wearing a simple white dress, but it still fit perfectly and he thought she looked absolutely stunning. She glanced at him from under her lashes catching his staring and gave a shy smile.

Taking her hand when she reached him, Sirius turned to face the priest.

He smiled at both of them. "We are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls, to begin the single journey where there were two before."

_I can't believe that I'm here. I never saw myself getting married. Prongs for sure and possibly Moony, but never myself or Wormtail. I still think of the traitor even on my wedding day. Oh, but how I wish you could be here James. Not that Matt's a bad Best Man, but we always promised each other. And…Oh shoot._

The priest was staring at Sirius. "Do you, Sirius Orion, take Sarah Elizabeth to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Do you, Sarah Elizabeth, take Sirius Orion to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," Sarah replied with tears in her eyes.

"Now, if you please, the rings."

Harry and Draco brought up the rings carried between them. Sirius removed the rings tipping a wink in the boys' direction.

Sirius slipped the ring on Sarah's finger. "Sarah, with this ring, I swear to be truthful to you in heart, body, and soul, and that I will love you, care for you, an protect you for the rest of days."

Sarah took the other ring, slipping it onto Sirius' finger. "Sirius, with this ring, I swear to be truthful to you in heart, body, and soul, and that I will love you, care for you, and tend to you for the rest of days."

"With these promises complete, I declare you bonded for life."

Sirius swept Sarah into his arms as he kissed her. He could hear Matt's loud laugh, the clapping of the few invited, and the children's excited yelling, but none of that mattered at the moment. All that mattered was the person within his arms. They broke it off, staring at each other with huge grins. There was firm tugging on their pants and glancing down, Sirius grinned. He swept Harry and Hannah into his arms and noticed Sarah doing the same with Hermione and Draco.

The six members of the new family walked down the aisle, laughing and smiling. Despite the darkness of the outside world where the Death Eaters and the Aurors searched for Sirius, no darkness could reach their hearts. For this one day, they were a new family and nothing was going to affect them.

* * *

She was gripping the little girl's hand tightly as they walked down the dark country road. She had to get them to the one place she hoped to find some sort of salvation. If she herself could not find it then at least for the sake of her daughter. Glancing down at the child in question, she noticed the small girl's eyes starting to close. Stopping, she knelt down picking up the small child and hefted her onto her shoulder.

_My sweet little Cassie, how I wish things could be easier for you. I wish you had never had to deal with this mess. I know I've made plenty of mistake in my life, but you… You could never be a mistake. _

She sighed quietly to herself, careful not to wake the sleeping child. She could still remember the look on her face when she saw her for the first time since she was born.

_She glanced behind her to see if the coast was clear. Seeing no one, she quietly made her way to the house and knocked softly 3 times. _

_The door cracked open slightly. "Yes?" came from within. "Can I help you?"_

_"It's me," she whispered."I've come back to take her with me."_

_The door opened to reveal a female house elf, staring at her with wide eyes. "You is escaping, but Regula is thinking that place is unleaveable."_

_"So did plenty of people and yet here I am," the woman said. "Is my daughter here?"_

_"Oh yes, Mistress Cassiopeia has been a very good child. She never cries and is quite polite. She is always asking for a picture of you though," Regula said. "Aren't you coming in Mistress -"_

_"You mustn't say my name, Regula," the woman cut her off. "It isn't safe."_

_Regula back away to let her mistress in before rushing over to a curled up bundle on a small cot. "Mistress Cassiopeia," Regula said while shaking the small child. "Mistress Cassie needs to wake up because her Mum is here."_

_The girl's eyes shot open and she rolled over to see the other human in the room. Her eyes grew wide. "Mummy?" The girl's sweet voice came out with something akin to hope._

_She opened her arms and her daughter flew into them, hugging her tight. "My sweet little Cassie. Don't you worry anymore. Mummy's going to take care of you."_

_She turned back to Regula. "Thank you for watching over her despite being a free elf."_

_"Of course. Little Miss Cassiopeia was no trouble at all. Well, I should be going then. You know how to reach me Mistress." Regula bowed before disapparating. _

_She knelt down in front of her daughter. "I'm sorry you haven't had an easy life, Cassie. However, I need you to be strong still. We have to walk for a way to get someplace safe."_

She readjusted the child, who has been slipping from her arms. She glanced towards the sun, noting how close to setting it was, and deduced it must be around eight in the evening. They had been walking for at least two days now, stopping to sleep or nibble on some food found along the way, but she knew it wouldn't keep them strong for much longer.

She turned the next bend in the countryside and noticed the house standing out in the grasses. The lights were on and looked quite cozy. She knew they had to stop here for now.

Hefting the small girl up yet again, she made her way to the door and knocked brusquely three times. There was some commotion inside sounding like children laughing before she heard somebody mumble something.

The door opened revealing a young boy with platinum blonde hair, who was glancing at her curiously. He couldn't have been more than three years older than Cassie.

_It can't…. Could we have made it?_

"Hello, can I help you?" He looked a tad timid, but was quite polite none the less.

"Yes, is there an adult around to speak with?"

The boy turned back towards the inside of the household. "Pad-Dad, there's someone here to see you!" he called out.

_Pad… Could he have been saying Padfoot. Well then that can only imply that his 'father' must be…_

"Sirius!"

Steel grey eyes widened as they took in the newcomers on the doorstep. He glanced at her daughter before focusing back on her. He looked completely shocked. "Bellatrix?"

* * *

A/N: I'm not really sure what to say other than I'm back now. I don't think many of you knew quite where this was going, but here we have it. Please be great and leave a review to let me know what you think.

~Ace


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